Business Administration

Public institutions and non-profit organizations play a fundamental role in today's economic systems as policy designers, public service-providers, grant-makers, and advocates of unmet ever-changing human needs. As their goals are different from those pursued by business companies, managers working in these organizations perform different tasks, follow different logic and must develop different skills. At the end of this course students understand these differences, are able to assess how successful public/nonprofit managers behave, are aware about which mistakes to avoid, and apply this learning to perform basic tasks connected to the overall creation of public value that public/non-profit organizations produce for their communities. The course is divided into 2 parts. Part 1: Public policy and public management (governments and their structure; role of bureaucracies; types of bureaucrats and how to motivate them; decision-making and performance evaluation in public agencies). Part 2: Non-profit management (role of the third sector in the economy; types of non-profit organizations: an overview; governance and management of non-profit organizations; how to secure contributed income: key successful factors in fundraising). Individual assignments, final group project.

This course introduces marketing from the perspective of the decision-maker. It examines controllable variables (product, price, promotion and distribution), uncontrollable variables (competition, law, society, technology, and economy), consumer behavior and marketing research. Course topics include: the marketing process; marketing strategy, plan, and program; environmental forces that affect the company’s ability to serve its customers; how external and internal marketing environment affect marketing decisions; the marketing information system and its parts; the marketing research process; consumer and business markets; consumer buyer behavior; the adoption and diffusion process for new products; market segmentation, targeting, and positioning; product strategies; pricing strategies; distribution strategies; promotion strategies; and marketing ethics and social responsibility. Text: Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING. Assessment: quizzes, project written report, project presentation, participation, research and in-class exercises.

The Course will include a review on Chinese growing technology sector and its ever-changing competitive internet Universe, and the way Chinese entrepreneurs are reshaping traditional industries (i.e.green industries, auto industry, last mile delivery, micro-mobility, retail, finance, entertainment, artificial intelligence). This course will review Chinese modernization policies, including but not limited to China 2025, China Internet, the recently issued Five-year plan, and their implication in the development of China and impact on China’s business environment and society. Review on Artificial Intelligence, its impact in Chinese society, economy and culture will also be covered. Finally, Chinese One Belt One Road initiative and Chinese pivotal role in the international arena. Overall this course provides students with useful insights for students to understand China not only a supplier of goods and commodities, but also, as a business innovative economy with great potential for internationalization.

This course examines the principles and current practices of management. The course focuses upon the interaction between individuals (managers) and the organization. The course explores what managers do through discussion of the four fundamental functions of managers, namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Topics include: evolution of management theories, environmental influences on management, organizational culture, strategic management, organizational design, change management, organizational control and human resources management. Text: Jones, G. R., and George, J. M., ESSENTIALS OF CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT. Assessment: exams, class participation, group paper, group presentation.

This course examines the theory and practice of organizations, focusing particularly on internal systems and processes of organizing people, as well as strategies and consequences of an organization's engagement with its external context.

This course provides an introduction to the management accounting and financial control concepts that are used in strategic decision-making, in order to effectively perform in a competitive business environment. Covering issues such as technology and digitalization, corporate strategy, marketing, and modern cost management tools, students critically analyze how these tools can be used to increase performance.

This course works through the stages of critical thinking and provides a study of the basic principles of ‘clarity’, ‘precision’ and ‘reasoning’; culminating in a debate of complex, current issues affecting the workplace. It also covers management theory and contemporary management practices in a “VUCA” (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment.

The course develops students’ skills in understanding, analyzing, and interpreting financial statements. Conceptually, the course emphasizes that producers and users of financial statements have different objectives and informational needs. At the same time, the course is applied in that it teaches students how to analyze actual financial statements data to make informed business decisions and assessments. The course is designed to broaden and deepen students’ conceptual and technical understanding of accounting as it is used for management purposes. The emphasis in the course is on financial controls, which provides the dominant form of control in the vast majority of decentralized organizations. This module provides support in business decisions, evaluation of organizational performance, or in evaluation of others (and/or be evaluated) through the use of financial and non-financial information. Course topics include understanding financial statements; fundamental analysis; growth strategy and financial tensions: the logic behind target setting; market based measures, ESG, and integrated reporting; management and control; financial responsibility; incentive systems; remedy to the myopia problem; and uncontrollable factors.